Fountain divider

ABSTRACT

A fountain divider for separating different color inks in printing presses, the divider having a magnet which holds it in place in the trough of the ink fountain system.

EJ111100 @llnlon P01110111 1151 5,65,161 Lonnnn 1 1 M11. 10, W72

[ FUKJNTMN DIWHDER 2,920,558 1/1960 Hewlett 101/364 3,184,807 5/1965 Schornstheimer et a]. ..49/478 [72] Dam, 3,240,341 3/1966 Rosaen ..277/80 x [73] Assignee: lDayoo Corporation, Dayton, Ohio 2,994,266 8/1961 Sparrow 101/382 M 3,180,259 4/1965 McKay ..l0I/382 M [22] Filed: Nov. 4, 1969 1 pp No; 873,878 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 924,401 4/1963 Great Britain ..IOI/21O [52] IILS. CI. ..1IOI/364, 248/206 A,l2(;717//28C)8, Primary Examiner-clyde I Coughenour 511 111111.131. .1141131/06 AmmeyReube [58] Field olfsenrch ..I01/2052l0, 364;

220/22; 206/DIG. 33; 248/206 A; 52 1310. 4; [57] ABSTRACT 2 7/ A fountain divider for separating different color inks in printing presses, the divider having a magnet which holds it in place [56] References Cited in the trough of the ink fountain system.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Miller ..lO1/210 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures I PATENTEDJAHHZISYZ 3,835,161

INVENTOI? .DALE D. LEANNA ATTORNEY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to dividers for printing press ink fountain systems, the divider having the function of holding or separating ink within the fountain which feeds the ink to the roller.

All printing presses require ink to be supplied from a reservoir through a series of rollers to the point where the ink is finally applied to the plates. The reservoir usually consists of a trough or fountain which extends substantially the entire length of the rolls in the press. If it is desired to print in inks of different colors, or to print on sheets which are narrower than the length of the roller, the best practice known to the trade is to divide the fountain into a shorter compartment or into separate compartments which then function as separate reservoirs. It is, of course, important that this separation be accomplished by means of a divider which is fluid-tight in its placement within the fountain, as well as its contact against the first roller which picks up the ink from the trough.

To permit a high degree of flexibility it is important that these dividers be removable, and therefore a permanent installation of the dividers is highly impractical. For this reason, the design of a proper divider must be very carefully evolved, with the further complication that part of the seal must be maintained against a rotating roller.

Conventional dividers of the type described above have been set forth in U.S. Pats. No. 2,301,535 to Green and No. 2,920,558 to Hewlett, both of common ownership. These dividers have proved to be quite satisfactory in their primary function of providing a fluid-tight seal in the trough. Both of these devices are secured within the trough by means of various attachments, such as clamps and brackets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The divider set forth in the present application is similar to those described in the Green and Hewlett patents in its manner of providing fluid-tight seals within the fountain and against the roller. However, the present divider provides an improvement in the means for holding the divider in place within the trough, this being accomplished by the use of a magnet upon which is mounted a pair of plates. This permits the divider to be held in place against a portion of the trough in such a manner that the divider may be easily installed and removed, and yet the inherent operating function is not impaired. By the use of this improved divider it has also been found that it is unnecessary to provide pressure strips within the body of the divider, the entire sealing being accomplished by means of resilient members mounted between the plates. This results in a divider which is much more economical to produce and simpler in operation.

It is also possible to use the magnetic members to hold the plates to the dividers without the need for additional holding members, thus further simplifying the assembly, disassembly, and construction of the divider.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view in partial cross section illustrating the principal form of the invention.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views taken along lines 22 and 33 of FIG. I.

FIG. I is a perspective view of a modified form of the divider.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, FIG. I illustrates the ink fountain system which consists of a fountain, a ductor or fountain roller It), and a divider III. The roller It rotates during operation of the press to transfer ink from the trough into a train of rollers (not shown) which will eventually transfer this material to the printing plate. The ink is held within a fountain or reservoir which consists of a trough generall designated by the reference numeral 13 and having a bot om member 11 and a vertically extending wall I2. The fountain divider which is located in this trough is generally designated by reference numeral I3 and consists of a magnetic member I4l mounted between two sideplates I6 and I7. A resilient member or pad I5 is held between the sideplates I6 and I7 as shown in FIG. 2 so that it forms a tight contact with the bottom wall I! of the trough and a portion of the periphery of the ductor roller I0. This resilient member I5 may be made of felt, urethane foam, matted fibrous material, or other materials which are sufficiently flexible to give a tight seal. The plates I6 and I7 are made of a material such as steel, but may be made of any ferromagnetic material. The magnet M may be one piece as shown or may be a number of separate magnets if desired. When assembled as shown, a magnetic field is established through the magnet 14! and the sideplates I6 and 17 which then act as pole pieces. The plates and the magnet are thus permanently assembled and do not necessarily require additional fastening means. In addition, the magnet provides the only holding means needed by contacting the vertical wall 12 and thus holding the divider 13 in place as shown. It should be understood that the magnetic forces may be varied by the type and size of magnets used to provide holding means in accordance with the demands of the entire system. Adequate scaling is provided by means of the resilient pad 15 which extends beyond the edges of the plates I6 and 17, this pad being securely held in place between the plates and held against the roller.

MODIFICATION A modification of the above device is illustrated in FIG. 4 in which a divider 23 is composed of a magnet 24, a resilient pad 25, and sideplates 26 'and 27. This construction is similar to the one described above, but in addition rivets 28 and 29 are shown as holding the plates and the magnet together. Instead of rivets these holding members may be screws, bolts, or other conventional fastening means. In this case it may be desirable to hold the components of the divider together, in order to simplify the handling of the divider, or to provide a stronger assembly, particularly in case the divider is to be frequently moved into various positions. This modification, however, falls within the same basic concept as described above in which the primary purpose of the magnetic holding means is to retain the dividers in place within the trough. Other modifications may be made within the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a printing press ink fountain system including a trough and a roller; an ink divider comprising a pair of plates at right angles to the axis of said roller, a resilient member between said plates positioned contiguous to said roller and the bottom of said trough, and a magnetic means between said plates to at least in part hold said plates and to provide the sole means for holding said divider in place in said trough.

2. The divider of claim I in which said resilient member extends beyond the edges of said plates.

3. In the divider of claim I, said magnetic means contacting the portion of said trough away from said roller, said resilient member spacing said magnetic means away from said roller and the bottom of said trough. 

1. In a printing press ink fountain system including a trough and a roller; an ink divider comprising a pair of plates at right angles to the axis of said roller, a resilient member between said plates positioned contiguous to said roller and the bottom of said trough, and a magnetic means between said plates to at least in part hold said plates and to provide the sole means for holding said divider in place in said trough.
 2. The divider of claim 1 in which said resilient member extends beyond the edges of said plates.
 3. In the divider of claim 1, said magnetic means contacting the portion of said trough away from said roller, said resilient member spacing said magnetic means away from said roller and the bottom of said trough. 